“Greece” with a personal touch – noe.ORF.at

Thomas Stepsetts in “Greece” – As a solo format and a recipe for success, the 39-year-old started out as a cabaret artist in 2006. “Greece” is now the title of his new comedy. However, this has nothing to do with the previous program. Instead, the film shows the late coming of age of a man described as a loser in his native Austria and finding peace in the Aegean Sea. The movie has been in cinemas since Friday.

Stipsits is the heir to a Viennese hotel, Johannes, who is under the thumb of his domineering mother Christine (Mona Seyfried), father Friedrich (Erwin Steinhauer) and fiancée Julia (Katarina Strasser). Only a letter from Greece rocks the prisoner: his biological father, who has been kept secret until now, left him property on a Greek island. At the last moment, those indecisive in making decisions turned south.

But even there, not everything is sunshine and roses. Johannes is caught between the fronts of the islanders, as Mayor Elias (Costas Antalopoulos) and his nemesis Rena (Claudia Kotal) seem to have their own plans for the property. They implicate the true heir in elaborate lies. In the end, it’s up to Johannes to take his life into his own hands for the first time and go his own way.

“I was indecisive and opposed to conflict”

Stipsits also co-wrote the script and dealt with personal issues in the film – such as the time before exhaustion and subsequent treatment in Ottenschlag (Zwettl region). “I had a lot in me before that. I wouldn’t say I’m determined by others, but I’m a bit indecisive, I hate conflict and I just want to please everyone, ”says the 39-year-old in an interview with noe.ORF.at on the occasion of the bottom conference Preview of Austria in Tulln.

In the film, his ex-wife Katarina Strasser plays Johannes’ girlfriend. At the time of filming, the couple was already separated, but there was one last kiss on screen. “This is an eternal kiss. We said we could show it to our grandkids and say, ‘Look, this is where Grandpa and Grandma kissed for the last time,'” Stepsits says.

Mona Seyfried was also pleasantly surprised at a preview of Lower Austria in Tulln. “I didn’t know until I was 40 that a completely different dad, a very famous dad. I’ll tell you more about that, but not today. It just blew me away,” the actress said.

Also in “Greece”, John learns that his father is not his biological father. When he follows in his real father’s footsteps, he finally finds himself. For Thomas Stepsits, leaving the movie screen wouldn’t be an option for the time being. “I like Austria and the people so much for that. But I can imagine a life model like Gerd Steinbacher. The STS singer lives in Greece six months a year.